What factors are considered with a premises liability claim?

When someone is injured on another person's or company's property, the victim will likely consider legal action in the form of a premises liability lawsuit. These are complex claims, even though to the injured party the incident may seem straightforward. But there are many things to consider about these lawsuits.

First of all, the injured party needs to consider his or her status when the incident happened. Many states take into consideration the "status" of the victim. There are three statuses: an invitee (someone invited onto the property, implicitly or explicitly), a licensee (a social guest or someone how has the property owner's consent) and a trespasser (as you can guess, this person is not supposed to be on the property).

An invitee or a licensee usually has a reasonable expectation to a safe premises, while the trespasser does not share in this right.

Another factor in premises liability lawsuits is the condition of the premises. Was it in good condition or poor condition? Were there known issues that the landlord or property manager failed to address? Could the incident in question have been foreseen and, thus, could the responsible party have done something to prevent it?

The actions of the injured party also matter greatly. Did the individual do something inherently risky? Or was the injured party simply acting normally and without cause for concern when the incident occurred?

As we mentioned in the first paragraph, these can be very complicated claims with plenty of layers to them. Anyone injured on a premises should consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

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